Monday, August 12, 2013

New search engine protects you from NSA

No data collected, so nothing to give feds if they ask

Trust Google? The National Security Agency, which routinely collects its data, does.

After all, it’s one of the companies from which Washington apparently
routinely pulls data about what Americans are reading, doing, seeing,
researching, hunting and contemplating.

So an entrepreneur says he has started an alternative service, which
offers encryption services to keep your details, well, your details. Out
of Google’s files. And away from the NSA.

The website is called Zeekly.com
and founder Jeffrey Sisk explains it doesn’t retain search history, and
also runs on 2048-bit SSL encryption to keep private what Internet
users don’t want public.

On his blog, he explains
that there are a number of steps a consumer can take to make the options
for the government to access personal information a lot harder.

One of those is an encrypted search function.

“Like millions of Americans, I was frustrated when The Guardian broke
the story on June 6th that the NSA has a top secret program called
Prism that collects personal data on American citizens from all of the
most well known and trusted technology companies. This included tech
giants such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft/Bing, Facebook, Youtube &
Twitter,” he said.

“What made this story especially heinous as it unfolded is that each
of these companies is prevented by the actual FISA court orders they
were served from disclosing to the public their information is being
intercepted by the government. These trusted companies all have privacy
policies and tell their users ‘we take privacy matters seriously,’ yet
we now find out millions of records are being secretly turned over to
the NSA every single day. From the documents leaked to The Guardian by
the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the government literally has
unfettered ‘back door access’ to these vast databases.”

He said Americans now depend on the Internet.

“We find information, solve problems, pursue our interests, read
news, make purchase[s], and socially connect with like minded people
around the world. Granting access to American spy agencies to this level
of information on American citizens is the most egregious assault on
our constitutional rights regarding illegal search and seizure in the
history of our country. As one of the original authors of the Patriot
Act recently put it, they never intended the law to be used to snarf up
mass amounts of data on unsuspecting American citizens. I think most of
us already knew this was going on to some extent, but clearly this has
far exceeded the original boundaries set forth by Congress.”

He continued, “I don’t think companies such as Google, Microsoft,
Facebook or Yahoo are inherently bad. They collect this data to provide a
higher level of targeted advertising and services for their users.
Unfortunately, because of minimal oversight, the government is bending
the rules to secretly obtain their data.”

It pulls information from all major search engines, but doesn’t store a users personal data, he said.

“This means that even if a court order [to obtain information] was presented, there’s no data.”

He said there are other steps that consumers also can take.

“Currently there are four main browsers that are popular in the
market: Internet Explorer (owned by Microsoft), Chrome (owned by
Google), Safari (owned by Apple), Firefox (open source owned by
Mozilla).”

“Of these four browsers, the first three are owned by companies who
are listed in the leaked NSA documents to be under FISA court order to
turn over your search data. The last one Firefox seems to be exempt.
This is because Firefox is an open source project (any software
engineer/programmer from around the world can write code to improve the
browser and then Mozilla coordinates what makes it into each new version
of the software). Surely it is not impossible, but it is highly
unlikely that Firefox has a mechanism to record your Internet searches.
To me, this makes it currently the best choice,” he explained.

He also recommended the use of a Virtual Private Network. They are
easy to install, he explained, and “it basically acts as your proxy when
you are on the Internet. In other words, to the websites you are
visiting, your requests are coming from the VPN’s server…. not your
personal computer or cellphone/tablet.”

Republicans opposing this strategy see it as lose-lose. They don’t
believe this tactic will work. And at the same time, they see it
producing more antipathy toward Republicans and branding them as zealots
and obstructionists.

I think the tea partiers are on the right track, and I think the “mainstream” opposition misses some key points.

Republicans should be thinking about two objectives.

First, fight public resignation that Obamacare will inevitably become
law and continue informing the public of its devastating effects.

Second, continue showing the public the Republicans are not the party
of “no” but the party of “yes” -- to a conservative agenda which is
really the only viable path to national recovery.

On the first point, the tea party strategy is already working.

If Republicans sit politely on the sidelines and allow business as
usual to continue in Washington, the American public can only conclude
that everything is basically okay.

But everything is not okay.

Obamacare is already revealing itself as a disaster, without much help from Republicans.

It is the Obama administration itself that initiated a one-year delay
in implementing one of the most central features of the law -– the
mandate on employers to provide government-defined health insurance. No
clearer statement could be made of the unworkability of this
bureaucratic nightmare.

Now Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National
Committee, former governor of Vermont and Democratic presidential
contender –- and a physician himself –- calls for scrapping another
central feature of Obamacare: the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

This is the unelected committee of 15 Washington bureaucrats who will
play the central role of pricing medical services under Medicare.

Opponents of the law said from day one that this bureaucratic pricing
of medical services would not work. Now Howard Dean confirms this.

On the second point, Republicans must wake up to the public relations
battle they have lost over recent years. Radical left-wing Democrats
have been accepted in the public eye as reasonable, and conservative
Republicans are portrayed as the nutty extremists.

When President Obama took office, the nation was headed toward the bottom of a terrible recession.

His priority then should have been economic recovery.

It was not. He used the honeymoon of his first year in office to enact his leftist dream of government health care.

Obamacare was passed in March 2010 through legislative sleight of hand and without a single Republican vote.

It brings government to almost one fifth of the American economy. Its
core features are regulation and the government printing press. Where
is the money going to come from to pay for all the subsidized purchases
of government insurance? Where is the money going to come from to pay
for the 20 million or so dumped into Medicaid on top of the 60 million
already there?

And somehow those who brought us this nightmare are the moderates?

No, the tea partiers are right. We are at war. The future of our country is at stake.

The Republican Party's priority must be to wake up America to what
faces us and show who the real radicals are. The only way out of this
mess is restoration of personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility,
and a functioning free market.

Founding Principles Worth Guiding America Then and Now

Whether
it was finding the solid ground in writing the Declaration of
Independence that would justify and drive a revolution or defining the
core rights that would guide the crafting for our Constitution, our
Founding Fathers held firmly to core principles that would help them
navigate through unchartered waters.

Every improvement is the result of change, but not every change is an
improvement. Our Founding Fathers had to find a compass to give them a
true north as they sorted through the choices and changes our emerging
country faced.

After more than two centuries, it is understandable that our citizens
and leaders can find themselves on autopilot. We honor our founding
documents by putting them on the wall or in a vault. But in our
abundance and arrogance, it's far too easy to ignore them in making the
current decisions that are shaping our country's future. Unfortunately,
core rights and liberties are being lost in the name of
"transformational change."

Russ Walden was a CEO who knew the power of a page. He would
claim that if you can't write on one page the principles that define you
as a leader, you will likely be rudderless in a rapidly changing world.
His one page of core statements served him well. He would use it making
tough decisions. He would share it with others as they came on to his
team--"They deserved to know how I made decisions before they took the
job."

I couldn't help but wonder what might have been on the page our
Founding Fathers would have crafted to guide them through the decisions
they made in those early years. Here's my guess on what might have been
on their page:

Never let the force of a majority take away the rights of an individual.

Establish no right that is not given to all equally or that obligates another citizen for anything more than non-interference.

Measure the success of government, not by how many services it
provides, but by how many citizens are free and effective in meeting
their own needs.

Never sacrifice tomorrow's liberties for today's temporary needs for security.

Protect the property rights of citizens to enjoy and control the fruits of their own labor and investments.

Refuse to expend the money of constituents for benevolence best done by individual charities or local governments.

Promote and preserve a sound, free-enterprise economy and protect
economic freedoms--the freedom to work, the freedom to enjoy the rewards
one earns, the freedom to own and control one's property, and the
freedom to participate in a free market.

Protect the right of individual self-defense, the spirit of resistance in defense of liberty, and the right to bear arms.

Protect "we the people" from the abuse of government by creating
checks and balances between branches that prevent hasty change,
unnecessary regulations, or government tyranny.

Ensure and promote the free expression of religion without ever establishing any state religion or denomination.

Ensure freedom of speech that allows people to criticize their
government, express unpopular opinions, or even express offensive
comments without fear of government reprisal or criminal persecution.

Establish, fund and maintain a vibrant and effective military force
appropriate for the time and the threat that preserves the security of
our country.

Finally, ensure that all citizens, from the poorest to the richest,
will equally pay their fair share of the cost of maintaining our
Constitutional Republic--freedom isn't free.

Our Founding Fathers are not around to endorse or sign this list, and
I'm sure they would amend, delete and add to what I have written. But
what is clear is that too many of our leaders today would run from this
list like they do from Washington when tough work needs to be done to
ensure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for generations to
come.

Obama's Approval Ratings Near All-Time Low

Facing a series of scandals involving everything from the IRS to
the NSA – in addition to the growing unpopularity of his signature
healthcare law -- President Barack Obama's job approval ratings are at
near record lows, sinking to levels last seen more than a year and a
half ago.Gallup's daily tracking survey on Saturday showed
the president at 41 percent approval, a 7-point drop from just a day
earlier. His disapproval rating was at 50 percent on Saturday. His
approval rating rose 1 percent on Sunday to 42 percent.

Real Clear Politics' average of recent polls put Obama's approval at 43.6 percent and his disapproval at 51.1.

On the economy, the numbers get worse. RCP's average of polls shows 42.2
percent approve of Obama's job performance while 53 percent disapprove.
On foreign policy, the president garnered 44 percent approval, 47.6
percent disapproval.

The president had an RCP-averaged approval rating of 54 percent as
recently as December, but it has slipped steadily since then with a
temporary bump in late April. His highest ever approval in the RCP was
65.5 less than a month after his inauguration.

Gallup's lowest approval rating for Obama was in late December 2011. At that time his approval rating was 38 percent.

The impending implementation of Obamacare and a slew of scandals that
the president has recently began calling "phony" may be behind his
recent slide in the polls.

On Sunday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said
members of Obama's own party are distancing themselves from his
healthcare law as they head into 2014.

"If this was such a great idea, then all of these senators who are
vulnerable in 2014 would have voted for it, and they didn't," Priebus
said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

The media have focused on Republican divisions over tactics, but the GOP
has "total unanimity" on getting rid of Obamacare, Priebus said. It's
the Democrats, he said, who are fighting each other over whether to keep
Obamacare in place.

Some Republicans from the tea party wing are calling for defunding
Obamacare in the 2014 fiscal year budget. Most party leaders say that
will force a government shutdown, and the public will blame Republicans.

But Priebus noted that 30 Democrats voted against Obamcare. The true
division is on Democratic side, he argued. He said it was "very obvious"
the delay in the employer mandate is about getting Democrats elected.A Fox News Poll conducted Aug. 3-5 on Obamacare saw 31 percent
of respondents say “it’s going fine,” while 57-percent said, “it’s a
joke.”

Obama also doesn't fare any better when it comes to the debate over the
recent intelligence leaks by NSA turncoat Edward Snowden.

When Fox News pollsters asked about the Justice Department looking at
reporters' records, for instance, 59 percent considered it a “serious
situation.” The same percentage considered the IRS targeting of
conservative groups to be "serious."

Sixty-nine percent thought the NSA surveillance of Americans was not a
"phony scandal," while 78 percent didn't think investigations into the
changes in talking points on the Benghazi attack were phony.

On Sunday, Republican Rep. Peter King of New York criticized Obama for
showing little leadership in the debate the surveillance program. The
opponents of the program have gotten their message out through the
media, King said.

"Basically Obama's been silent for the past two months," said King. "He
allowed the Edward Snowdens and others in the world to dominate the
media."

King, appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that Obama had an
obligation as commander in chief to "aggressively and effectively defend
his program and he really didn't do it."

Finally, despite Obama's attempt to shift talk to the economy with a series of speeches in recent days, a Fox News poll found
that 71 percent of voters say he isn't saying anything new and would
prefer to see him stay in Washington to work things out with
Republicans.
A Pew Research Centerpoll in mid-July found confidence in
an improved economy is lagging. Four in 10 said it will take a long time
for the economy to get back on its feet.

It is certain that Federal Reserve Chairman Helicopter Ben
Bernanke was relieved last month when he testified before Congress and
his longtime antagonist, Congressman Ron Paul, wasn’t present.

Bernanke’s statement that “… nobody really understands gold prices,
and I don’t pretend to understand them either” went unchallenged. That
would not have been the case had the now-retired Paul been present. It’s
an astonishing admission from someone who claims to be steeped in
economic history, wisdom and experience, as does Bernanke.

Gold prices have historically indicated the confidence in or the
failure of fiat currencies. An ounce of gold can still be exchanged for
the same items an ounce of gold could be exchanged for 100 years ago.
That’s not the case of a dollar, which now is worth only pennies
compared to what it was in 1913, or even 1971 when Richard Nixon
completely disconnected the U.S. dollar from gold.

In 1936, you could buy a very nice suit for $34. At the time, gold
was $34 per ounce. Today, you can buy an extremely nice suit for $1,350.
An ounce of gold can be had for about $1,350.

Suppose someone had put $34 in a shoebox in 1936, set it on the top
shelf of the closet and forgotten about it. If you found it today, it would still be $34,
albeit $34 that will buy a lot less than $34 did in 1936. But suppose
someone had put away for safekeeping an ounce of gold in 1936. If you
pulled it out today, it would be worth $1,300 or more.

In 1933, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — the price of a basket of
common goods purchased by the average consumer — was 12.8. The current
CPI is 233. In other words, that same basket of goods has increased from
just less than $13 to $233.

The rise in gold’s price from $34 to $1,300 does not reflect an
increase in the value of an ounce of gold. It reflects an increasing
loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar and the devaluation of the dollar
through money printing. Every dollar printed dilutes the value of those
already in circulation. And Bernanke has been on a money printing binge
for the past five years.

There is a great myth that the Federal government is in debt. Thanks
to central banking and the Federal Reserve, all the government has to do
to erase its so-called debt is to print more money. (This is not the
case for local and State governments.)

Note from the Editor: As a
reader you deserve to know the truth behind the economic disaster
America faces. I’ve arranged for readers to get free copies of two books
that reveal the sinister plot by the US Government to steal our
wealth—a plot Merrill Jenkins, Sr. (the Original Monetary Realist) tried
to expose at great risk. His books are hard to find, but these books
include rare transcripts from his lectures. Click here for your free copies.

In a column he wrote in 1995, the late economist and author Murray N. Rothbard explained the Fed’s operation thusly:

I set up a Rothbard Bank, and invest $1,000 of cash
(whether gold or government paper does not matter here). Then I “lend
out” $10,000 to someone, either for consumer spending or to invest in
his business. How can I “lend out” far more than I have? Ahh, that’s the
magic of the “fraction” in the fractional reserve. I simply open up a
checking account of $10,000 which I am happy to lend to Mr. Jones. Why
does Jones borrow from me? Well, for one thing, I can charge a lower
rate of interest than savers would. I don’t have to save up the money
myself, but can simply counterfeit it out of thin air. (In the 19th
century, I would have been able to issue bank notes, but the Federal
Reserve now monopolizes note issues.) Since demand deposits at the
Rothbard Bank function as equivalent to cash, the nation’s money supply
has just, by magic, increased by $10,000.

The inflationary,
counterfeiting process is under way.

The Federal Reserve works this way, by “lending” money to other
banks, through either a mark on a ledger sheet or by computer transfer.
Real money never changes hand.

So when agents of the government talk about debt, they are talking about something that doesn’t actually exist.

Remember: Since the U.S. monetary system is no longer on the gold
standard, Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) are no longer redeemable for
gold, as they were prior to 1933. Now the government recognizes a slip
of paper with a printed value on it as money. That slip of paper is
backed by the “full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.” However,
that government can simply print money whenever the supply runs short or
the government decides to spend more on the pet projects of the elected
class or to bail out their favored corporatist masters (as in the case
of the stimulus packages of the past few years).

However, the process of printing additional money to cover the
so-called debt causes inflation and a devaluation of the dollar.
Consider that prior to 1933 an ounce of gold was equal to $20.67.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal set the price at $35 per ounce. Since
President Richard Nixon separated the dollar from gold, the price has
increased 47-fold.

In 1966, before he sold his soul to the banksters, former Fed
Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote an essay titled “Gold and Economic Freedom.” In it, he said:

In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to
protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe
store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its
holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided,
for example, to convert all his bank deposits to silver or copper or any
other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for
goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and
government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods.
The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way
for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.

All fiat systems in history have been in socialist states. All
socialist states in history have a history of suppressing their own
people. And all socialist fiat money states/countries transfer wealth
and production to the state without payment.

Of course, as in America today, this transfer takes place via the
depreciation of paper money. The owner of the money printing press
controls all wealth and production.

All that we ever get from our paper money is the promise to pay.
Thomas Jefferson warned of this when he said: “The trifling economy of
paper, as a cheaper medium, or its convenience for transmission, weighs
nothing in opposition to the advantages of the precious metals… it is
liable to be abused, has been, is, and forever will be abused, in every
country in which it is permitted.”

And President James A. Garfield said: “Whoever controls the volume of
money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.”

And now, you ask: “Since gold is way down from its high of $1,900,
doesn’t that mean the economy is improving?” If you ask that question
you are as economically ignorant as Bernanke.

The answer is no, because the banksters invented fractional reserve
gold. In other words, they are selling paper gold that has no basis in
reality. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ounces
more gold represented by paper than has ever been mined in the history
of the world.

Real gold is being purchased at a record pace. Yet because of the
banksters’ manipulation and rigging of the market through the use of
unbacked paper “gold,” the price took a precipitous dive in April. Paul
Craig Roberts explained what happened to the gold price in great detail here and here.

As Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse reminded readers in his column
Thursday, the U.S. economy was at its best prior the creation of the
Federal Reserve and the establishment of an income tax. Even Wikipedia notes this:

The Gilded Age saw the greatest period of economic growth
in American history. After the short-lived panic of 1873, the economy
recovered with the advent of hard money policies and industrialization.
From 1869 to 1879, the US economy grew at a rate of 6.8% for real GDP
and 4.5% for real GDP per capita, despite the panic of 1873. The
economy repeated this period of growth in the 1880s, in which the wealth
of the nation grew at an annual rate of 3.8%, while the GDP was also
doubled.

The economy functions best when on a hard money standard and absent
central control of the money supply and burdensome taxation and
redistribution. The Federal Reserve, ostensibly created to keep the
economy stabile, has created financial booms and busts, impoverished
savers, and destroyed the middle class.

Ramadan...meaning 'Scorched Earth'...began on July 8th
and ended on August 4th, the so-called 'Night of Power' (Laylet al-Qadr)...the 'Night
of Revelation'...the 'Night of Destiny'...when the first verses of the (vile) qur'an
were revealed to mohamed...or so the muslims claim.

And on that day, on orders initiating from Barack
HUSSEIN Obama, 19 US embassies across the Middle East, North Africa, and
certain parts of Asia were closed and locked down as a precautionary measure.Closed and locked down because of what government
officials and 'supposed' intel operatives said was an 'unspecified' terrorist
threat coming from al-Qaeda and its affiliates...as in intercepted communiques
which 'supposedly' included an attack order from al-Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahri to Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

But of course NOTHING happened as most of us knew it
wouldn't, because Obama gave the game plan away (probably to warn his brethren)
giving al-Qaeda time to change their plans...if there were ever any plans to
attack our embassies to begin with. And even
if this was true, the ONLY embassy that should have been closed was the one in
Yemen, the new ground point zero for
al-Qaeda operations.

And now a week later as all the embassies are
reopening, except for the one in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the stage has
been set for Barack HUSSEIN Obama to do what he does best...campaign about how
wonderful he is and what a great decision he made in order to keep our
embassy personnel safe.But wonderful he
is NOT for whether the threat was real or NOT is quite the distraction from the
fact that this miserable excuse of a president once again allowed our beloved America
to seem weak in the eyes of the world...allowed America to be seen as backing
down to the enemy...allowed America to be seen as a coward who high tails it
and runs when threats...'unspecific' threats at that...get too great.

And this 'We the People' can NEVER forgive him for as
America caters to and backs down to NO one...to NO nation...especially to NO
muslim (YES muslim) terrorist organization...at lest this was so before this
man...this muslim...usurped his way into the presidency.

But what can we expect from a man who sides with the
enemy every chance he gets...a man who welcomes the enemy into the White House...the
American people's house...to break bread.Remember, just last month Obama hosted his fifth,...YES fifth...White House ' iftar' dinner
in the State Dining Room to celebrate Ramadan.Joined by members of his administration, elected officials, religious
leaders, and members of the diplomatic corps Obama saluted
muslims (on national television NO less) who claim to be Americans (I will NOT
hyphenate anyone claiming to be an American) for their, according to him, contributions
in helping build the nation as business entrepreneurs, technology innovators,
and pioneers in medicine (gagging BIG time on that one).

Remember at that dinner Obama said the
holy month of Ramadan was “a time of reflection, a chance to demonstrate
ones devotion to God through prayer and through fasting, but it’s also a time
for family and friends to come together”...as in his family...his friends...his
devotion to his God...the false pseudo-god known as allah...for NO true Christian
or Jew would grovel like that before those out to kill them.

Remember it well for this is where
Barack HUSSEIN Obama's allegiances lie...always have and always will.

So
knowing where Obama's true allegiances lie why did he really close all those
embassies...why would he do something so drastic, at
a huge cost to we taxpayers based on what amounts to little definitive information...why
when one year ago direct communications were received from Ambassador Stevens begging
for back-up and help at Benghazi...why when Obama saw with his own eyes the video
coverage of the attacks from the drones flying above the compound did he and his
people claim they didn't have enough information to act...why...why...why.

Why...could
it have something to do with what I've said since day one...that Ambassador
Stevens caught Obama and his people smuggling guns and military grade weapons
to the al-Qaeda supported and financed Syrian rebels and was going to expose
him...could those weapons have been the ones unaccounted for that he ILLEGALLY gave
to the Libyans in violation of our Constitution's 'War Powers Clause'.And why last week were US Navy amphibious
ships in the Red Sea moved closer to Yemen and then pulled back...

Or...and
this is a biggie...did all these closings have to do with Edward Snowden and Obama's
fear that Snowden found out 'certain things' and is 'talking' to his nemesis Russian President Vladimir
Putin. Could Obama have had to destroy all the evidence housed in our embassies
to hide 'certain' high-level classified spying programs...to shred
documents...to delete files and films...to try and wipe his fingerprints NOT
only off of Benghazi with his weapons running but to wipe clean his role in spying
on Russia, especially with Russia supporting Assad's government forces and he supporting
the al-Qaeda backed rebels.Could this
be the real reason for the closings...what better way to stealthily operate
than to do closings in plain sight while the world's eyes were diverted away by
phony terrorist threats...this way he could do his 'dirty work' behind closed
and sealed doors while the world was fooled into thinking the doors were closed
for the safety of our embassy personnel...and doing this to coincide with
Ramadan is the perfect cover for it all.

I
put NOTHING passed this most vile of men, for Obama is NOT trying to
get Snowden back because of his disclosures about spying on 'We the
People'...he needs Snowden back because he might spills the beans on
him. And don't think
for a minute that Eric Snowden won't end up being in an 'unfortunate
accident'
somewhere...but above all else NEVER forget that Barack HUSSEIN Obama's
loyalties will NEVER be with America, with American interests, or with
'We the
People' but will always be with those out to kill us.

EMAIL FOLLOWERS

Follow My Posts by Email

The Patriot Factor

I am an American Patriot...part of the grassroots movement of bloggers spreading the truth the media will not. I am also co-host with Craig Andresen of RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on RSP Radio at: https://streamingv2.shoutcast.com/right-side-patriots